Angry Anymore
by Badger the Gnome
Summary: After the events of Superman's birthday, Wonder Woman vents her anger at Mongul's words, and finds comfort in an unexpected place. After For the Man Who Has Everything, Bruce x Diana.


_Angry Anymore_

A Justice League Unlimited ficlet

By Comet-hime

Disclaimer: I by no means own either Batman or Wonder Woman, despite my desire to have the latter all to myself. Nope, I'm just borrowing them from DC and twisting them to my warped will. Hope they don't bill me for repairs.

Note: This takes place right after "For the Man Who Has Everything," as I was 'inspired' by Mongul's comments about women to write something. As it is, this turned out much different than I wanted it to, but it's okay, because it still works. I still kinda wish it were more 'rar!' and uber feminist though. Meh.

* * *

Diana of Themyscira had possibly never been so angry in her years. True, she had calmed down a bit since they had returned to the Watchtower and stowed Mongul's body in the strongest containment cell they had, leaving the wretched plant on him to keep him satiated. But the fury still stormed inside of her. He had attacked one of her best friends, and by default, another, and ruined a day that should have been happy and peaceful.

And he had insulted her.

Almost screaming, she barreled into one of the constructs in the training room; whirling around to pound upon it with her fists in every combination she had been trained. She knew it was selfish to be the angriest about what the bastard had said to her, and not what he had done, but the words had been worse even than the damage he did to her body. Snarling, she back flipped and started on another structure, something oriental that Bruce had used in his training. She was an Amazon princess, damn it. She would not be spoken to that way.

"You should really be resting, you know," a voice called from behind her, and she spun around to find Batman standing in the doorway. "Your body needs to heal."

"So does my spirit," she retorted, not waiting for him to walk inside before she went back to 'practicing.'

He entered anyway, striding up to walk around her and lean on the machine she worked on, facing her. "I was serious."

She stopped, staring at him with her hands planted firmly on her hips. "So was I." A moment of heated silence passed between them, until finally she sighed, relaxing her stance. "What are you still doing here, anyway?"

"I wanted to make sure you were all right. You took quite a beating."

"I'm fine. Or I will be. ...How about you?"

"I'll live." He stood then, no longer supporting his weight elsewhere, and looked her straight in the eye. "Diana, you know that I didn't abandon you back there, to Mongul."

It wasn't quite a question, or an order either. But she knew what he meant. Crossing her arms over chest, she sighed again, feeling some of her discontent leaving with her breath. "I know," she replied, "even if I was angry when it happened, I do understand." Feeling embarrassed and ashamed now that she had ever been angry at all, she turned around, looking anywhere but at him. "I should really be used to the way some people treat women by now, it shouldn't bother me like it always does. But still I get so furious about it and every word he said still hurt, and as angry as I got at him, that anger leeched into everything else." She looked over her shoulder, meeting in part his gaze. "Whatever I felt towards you at that point was a product of that. And I'm sorry."

"Everything you felt?" he said, his voice rather flat. She felt him reach toward her, touch her shoulder, and under his touch she turned back around. They looked at each other, knowing those words could mean something more, but neither of them saying anything.

He shook his head slightly, then met her eyes again. "Diana, you know I don't think the way he does. Or did. You are –"

"I know," she interrupted him, forcing a smile. "If you did I would have let the plant have you."

He frowned. "Very funny."

"Sorry."

A slightly awkward silence filled the room then. Neither of them moved, despite wanting to. The air around them seemed to grow thick with tension, and suddenly, Diana became very aware of her own body. Her eyes darted to take in all of the man in front of her, and then met his again. As if prompted, he took a step forward, drawing closer to her but still not doing anything else. Clearly, he was thinking of it, but she really had had a hard day and he didn't want to do anything she wasn't ready for. Regardless of the fact that she had kissed him before.

Before he could come to a decision, Diana moved and closed the final space between them, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her mouth softly over his. He did not hesitate to return the kiss, his arms finding their way around her waist more comfortably than he would have expected. Neither of them knew how long they stood like that, absorbed in each other. Time seemed not to matter.

Eventually, however, they pulled apart, though still remaining in each other's arms. The Amazon princess smiled, reaching to play at the edge of his mask.

"Sometimes you think too much," she whispered.

He just smiled back, for once lost for words. He stayed still and let her push back his cowl, revealing his face to her, a face she had come to be very fond of. Thus exposed, he leaned into her again, renewing their previous contact. She deepened the kiss, exalting in how good this felt after months of not acting on their desire for each other.

And she realized, under his touch, she wasn't so angry anymore.


End file.
